Proposal would let Trump, but not Obama, run for third term

On Thursday, Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles introduced a bill that would amend the Constitution to allow a president to run for and serve for a third term in office under certain circumstances. As detailed in a press release from his office, the proposed constitutional amendment states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

The amendment, extending the presidential term limit from two terms to three, would allow Trump to run again in 2028. But prohibiting anyone running again who has already been “elected to two consecutive terms” as president would ban former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton from running again. Ogles clearly states in his press release that he intends to support Donald Trump through this amendment. In his press release, Ogles argues, “It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration.”

“I just introduced a resolution to amend the 22nd Amendment to allow President Trump to seek a third term,” Ogles tweeted about his proposed bill, demonstrating that it is intended to pave the way for a third Trump term.

I just introduced a resolution to amend the 22nd Amendment to allow President Trump to seek a third term. Read the details.👇https://t.co/OTacpt3ggE

— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) January 23, 2025

The amendment is a long-shot and unlikely to pass, despite conservative control in Washington

If passed and ratified, Ogles’ proposed amendment would alter the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, to limit the presidency to two terms. Before then, presidents serving no more than two terms was a norm established by President George Washington, who retired after his second term in office. That norm was broken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who successfully ran for a third and fourth term during World War II and died in office. After Roosevelt, Congress proposed the 22nd Amendment to formally place a check on presidential power by limiting the time any person could stay in office.

Even though Republicans control all three branches of the federal government, it is unlikely that Ogles’ amendment will be successful. Amendments must be approved by two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate and then ratified by at least 38 states to be added to the Constitution. Republicans fall far short of these numbers, and it is unlikely that Democrats would support this. Nevertheless, the proposal fits with a pattern of Trump and his Republican allies attempting to consolidate power and alter or reinterpret the Constitution to serve their agenda. In recent months, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court has expanded the concept of presidential immunity. Trump has issued dozens of executive orders, including one that would nullify the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment.

Trump and his allies have quickly implemented their right-wing agenda under the new administration. The proposed constitutional amendment could theoretically give Trump even more to reshape the United States to fit his conservative agenda. Even if it fails, as most expect it will, it is another signal of the type of presidency that Trump and his supporters hope to enact now that they are back in power.